Program Brochures

BCSSW's new Center for Social Innovation (CSI) is a premier resource for innovation training, support, and research. Social innovation encourages the development of new ideas and directions for solving social problems, both creatively and effectively. Visit the website »

These events feature speakers who introduce students to the experiences of leaders in social-justice-oriented careers. After the luncheons, we ask each speaker "Three Questions for a Social Work Leader."

Macro: Social Innovation + Leadership

Social Innovation represents a new paradigm that supports the development, implementation, and sustainability of transformational responses to social needs. Boston College School of Social Work took a leadership role in this new social movement by establishing the Social Innovation and Leadership program (SIL) for social work students choosing the Macro specialization. SIL is the first comprehensive social work graduate program to train social workers to take their place in an entrepreneurial movement heretofore dominated by business schools and schools of public policy.

The innovative SIL program has led to the designation of Boston College as an Ashoka Changemaker Campus, making Boston College the first institution internationally to receive this designation based on innovative work initiating from a graduate school of social work.

The Program engages emerging leaders in courses that support innovation, provide experiential learning opportunities at human service organizations and in the classroom, offer awards for innovative proposals, and devise specialized training for practitioners who supervise students.

THE PROGRAM

Required Courses

Financial Management and Resource Development

Leadership and Social Transformation

Social Innovation

Experiential Learning

Intensive experiential field placement opportunities at leading human service organizations

Optional participation in elective classes with fieldwork geared toward directly working on social innovation initiatives in local organizations

Social Innovation Day for exposure to social innovation in action and real-life learning opportunities

Interactive experiences such as scenario building and rapid prototyping at the annual Social Innovation Day

Experiential course work in innovation and social enterprise development